Pete Rose happy to spend time with his fans in Cooperstown

Monday

Jul 28, 2008 at 12:01 AMJul 28, 2008 at 10:50 AM

It’s amazing what kinds of stories you can wander into here on Hall of Fame Induction Sunday. Just strolling into an out-of-the-way memorabilia shop can put you face-to-face with a baseball legend – even one you wouldn’t think would ever be caught within walking distance of the Hall.

Alex Isao Herbach

It’s amazing what kinds of stories you can wander into here on Hall of Fame Induction Sunday.

Just strolling into an out-of-the-way memorabilia shop can put you face-to-face with a baseball legend – even one you wouldn’t think would ever be caught within walking distance of the Hall.

Pete Rose, the embattled former superstar, was spotted inside Safe at Home on Main Street, sitting at a table with his arms crossed. Though he will likely never see a bronze likeness mounted up the street in his lifetime, the all-time hits leader was more forthright than you might expect when asked what he was doing so close to the Hall of Fame.

"I always come out here to do what 60 other people do … sign autographs," Rose said, who does a very brisk business signing baseball collectibles.

Every other year or so, he flies into Cooperstown for induction weekend, takes a refuge from the heat in some diminutive memorabilia store and trades autographs and stories for money.

No day-night doubleheaders, no head-hunting pitchers, no reporters, just one-on-one with his most loyal fans. He seems to enjoy it.

"One thing about doing this gig is you can sit long enough to take time with everybody," Rose said. "Those people tell me where they’re from, I might tell them a story. It’s fun."

One story he shared detailed his 4,000th hit. On opening day of the Montreal Expos’ 1984 season, Rose was stuck on number 3,999, and playing, coincidentally, the Cincinnati Reds, the team he played with for most of his career.

Interestingly, when Rose got his 3,000th hit with the Reds, Hall of Famer Tony Perez was playing first base for the Expos. When he was hitting for his 4,000th, Rose was playing with the Expos and Perez was at first for the Reds.

Rose walked four times in the game for the first time in his career and never got the hit.

But two days later, on Friday the 13th no less, he got the milestone base hit. If that wasn’t eerie enough, it turns out it was April 13th – the same day of the year Rose got his first career hit back in 1963.